Are people leaving Facebook for Ello?

Could Ello be the next big thing? One of the Social Media platforms to be on is definitely Facebook. Thus far, everyone concentrated on gathering as many fans as possible on the pages, in order to promote their blogs, generate conversation and so on, but, as we all know, the company dropped the pages’ reach from about 16% to 3%. Talking organic, of course. Why is that? To force you to use paid ads, obviously.

Now, as much as we hate being fed ad after ad, having our data shared with third parties and many other cool things like these, we’re still hanging there. Why? There is no viable alternative. (Please, don’t say Google+)

Well, this could all change. Ironically, everyone is sharing news about a new anti-Facebook social network on… Facebook. We are talking about Ello.

If you haven’t heard about it by now, they say Ello is the newest ad-free social platform. Here’s what they say:

Your social network is owned by advertisers.

Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is tracked, recorded and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.

We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.

We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce and manipulate — but a place to connect, create and celebrate life.

You are not a product.

“Your social network”… hmm, not very subtle, we all get it. Furthermore, after this text, you have two buttons. If you click on “I Agree”, you are encouraged to share the manifesto. If you disagree, well, they send you back to Facebook. Literally! There’s a link pointing here.

Now, what’s the catch, you might ask. We found it for you. Ello also says:

We may share your personal information with third parties under several circumstances, including (1) if you tell us it is OK to do so (2) if we believe that we need to do so by law (3) if we contract with a third party service provider to offer services for you — for example, with a credit card processing company if you decide to buy something through Ello.

What about that? Want our opinion? Ello, although pretty appealing, is not enough to grab people from Facebook.